Crutch



Sept. 18, 1951 c. B. NEPTUNE CRUTCH Filed April 29, 1946 ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18,Y 1951 v.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE vCharles B. Neptune, Los Angeles, Calif. Application April '29, 1946, Serial N0.-665,863

' 1 My invention relates to a crutch. One of the principal objects of this invention is Y to provide a crutch which is extremely durable,

but which is also longitudinally resilient.

Another important object of this invention is to providea lcru-tch which is readily adjustable for length, and also for the hand support thereon, and in which theA adjustments may be easily .made

l.but which remain fixed when made.

An important object also of this invention is to provide a hand rest which may be readily rotated to any convenient position.

A further important object of this invention is to provide simple, novel, and economical means for longitudinally adjusting the crutch.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide a crutch in which the weight applied on the arm support is in substantial alignment with the lower or leg portion of the crutch.

With these and other objects in view, as will appear hereinafter, I have devised a crutch having certain novel features of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions,

, as will be hereinafter described in detail and particularly set forth in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the characters of reference-thereon, which form a part of this application, in which:

Fig. l is an elevational view of a crutch, embodying my invention in a preferred form;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view thereof, taken through 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, longitudinal View, partly in section, of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal sectional View, showing one form of adjustment of the leg;

Fig. 5 is a similar sectional View thereof, showing a slightly modified form of construction; and,

Fig. 6 is another fragmentary sectional View thereof, showing still another slightly modified form of construction.

The crutch shown in the drawings has a single post I extending substantially the full length of the crutch from the base to the top. This post is made of tubular metal, preferably aluminum. I have found that a tubing of V8" outside diameter, and one having walls of 0.065" thickness, is satisfactory.

This post has substantially two bowed portions, designated Ia and Ib, the former being bowed backwardly and the latter forwardly. The crown of the bowed portion Ia lies substantially in the upwardly extended axis of a lower straight portion I".

, 2 The extreme upper portion of the post ,is ben forwardly, as indicated by Id, and to the upper end is secured Va bracket or arm rest 2, which may be cast in the shape shown. ,Over the arm rest may be drawn Aa flexible cover or cushion 3.

-The hand rest 4, shown best in Figs. 2 and "3, is in the form of a handle 4 which extends backywardly from the bowed portion Ib, and is directed upwardly at an angle therefrom. At the forward end of this grip or hand rest is a hub 5 having a bore through which the post extends. The bore, designated 5a, is tapered to a small hole at its upper end. In the bore are forced two wedges 6 of semi-circular cross-section, these being forced into position by a collar 'I secured to the lower end of the hub. This construction permits the hand rest to be adjusted longitudinally on the post, and permits the hand rest or grip to be rotated without longitudinal adjustment.

In the straight portion Ic, at the lower end of the post, is longitudinally adjustably mounted a leg 8 having a yieldable foot 8a, preferably of rubber, at its lower end.

In Fig. 4 of the drawings, the upper end of the leg 8 is enlarged and threaded, as indicated by 8b. This threaded portion is adjustable within a long threaded bore I within the lower portion but upwardly-from the lower end of the post. The intermediate portion of the leg 8 is fixed or secured in position by means of a split collar 9 at the lower end of the post I.

In the modied structure, shown in Fig. 5. a screw I0 is positioned coaxially within the lower end of the straight portion Ic of the post, and is secured in position at its upper end by means of an annular anchor member I I. In this instance, the upper end of the leg 8 has a threaded socket I2 into which the screw I0 is adjustably extended. The lower straight portion Ic of the post I is secured to or clamped around the leg 8 by a collar I3.

In Fig. 6 of the drawings, thepleg 8 is provided with a frustoconical ball race I4 at its upper end, the upper end of the race having a cap Ila. Between the race and the interior of the wall of the post I are balls I5 which locate the interior of the leg within the straight portion of the post, and absolutely prevent the downward movement of the post I over the leg 8 when the crutch is in an upright position. The ball race I4, at the upper end of the foot, and the balls I5 may be easily inserted into the lower portion of the post by inverting the crutch. The positioning and locking means described f does not prevent the leg 8 from beingwithdrawn 3 from thepost I, and for this reason I have provided a conical wedge I6 at the bottom end of the post I, which wedge is clamped around the leg 8 by a collar I'I. The wedge I 6 may be either a. split conical Wedge or may consist of arcuate segments.

Though I have shown and described a particular construction, combination, and arrangement of parts and portions, and certain modifications thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the same, but desire to include in the scope of my invention the construction, combination, and arrangement substantially as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A crutch, comprising a straight tubular portion open at its lower end, a leg adjustably extending into said tubular portion and provided at its inner end With a frustoconical portion, a plurality of balls located between the interior of theV tubular portion and the frustoconical portion, and contractible means at the lower end of the tubular portion for retaining the leg in longitudinally adjusted position.

2. A crutch, comprising a straight tubular portion open at its lower end, a leg adjustably extending into said tubular portion and provided at its inner end with a frustoconical portion, a plurality of balls located between the interior of the tubular portion and the frustoconical portion, means at the lower end of the tubular portion for frictionally locating the leg in longitudinally adjusted position.

3. In a structure of the class described, a tubular member open at one end, a leg adjustably extending into said tubular member and provided at its inner end with a frusto-conical portion, a plurality of balls located between the interior of the tubular member and the frusto- `conical portion, and means at said end of the tubular member around the leg to facilitate holding the latter in adjusted position.

CHARLES B. NEPTUNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 596,203 Drake Dec. 28, 1897 1,077,216 Bauerle Oct. 28, 1913 1,331,109 Hunter Feb. 17, 1920 1,652,110 Fullington Dec. 6, 1927 2,388,778 Wheller Nov. 13, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 62,881 Norway Sept. 16, 1940 

